State Highway Patrol, JPD nab driver, 1,100 pounds of marijuana

The Missouri State Highway Patrol, with assistance from a Joplin police drug-sniffing dog, found 1,100 pounds of marijuana in a tractor trailer Feb. 15 on Interstate 44.

Staff reports

The Missouri State Highway Patrol, with assistance from a Joplin police drug-sniffing dog, found 1,100 pounds of marijuana in a tractor trailer Feb. 15 on Interstate 44.

Michael V. Garcia, 25, Edinburg, Texas, was arrested and taken to the Jasper County Jail in Carthage.

Garcia was charged on Tuesday with felony second degree drug trafficking and is being held on $25,000 bond.

The patrol said, in a written release, that a trooper stopped an eastbound tractor-trailer with a refrigerator-type box trailer at 3 p.m. near the 27-mile marker in the Sarcoxie area.

The trooper stopped the truck for following another commercial vehicle too close, and asked for permission to search the truck after finding inconsistencies in the driver's paperwork and noting nervousness in the driver.

A Joplin Police Department drug sniffing dog, named Gunner and handled by Officer Gabe Allen, was called in and alerted on the trailer.

The patrol said a physical search of the trailer revealed 1,100 pounds of marijuana concealed in a load of cabbage.

The Joplin Police Department said Gunner was the dog bought with public donations to replace Cezar, the dog killed in the line of duty last year.

"Gunner began his service to Joplin just a few short weeks ago and is quickly demonstrating the quality performance that his predecessor, Cezar was known for," Joplin police said in a written release. "Gunner has big paw prints to fill, but he is off to a good start."

Carthage Press

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